Making News on Heart.org

LOS ANGELES,Nov. 4, 2012 – The Council on Clinical Cardiology of the American Heart Association presented its highest honor to Bernard J. Gersh, M.B., D.Phil., of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., “for his significant and sustained contributions to cardiovascular disease prevention, diagnosis and treatment – discoveries advancing the practice of cardiology and benefiting patients and physicians worldwide.”

Gersh, professor of medicine at the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, received the James B. Herrick Award, at the cardiology council’s annual dinner held during the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions 2012 in Los Angeles. Council chair L. Kristin Newby, M.D., of Duke University presented the award, a medallion and citation. Dr. Gersh also delivered the Herrick Lecture at the dinner meeting.

The Herrick award and lecture are named for pioneer physician James B. Herrick, author of the world’s first clinical description of coronary disease.

In presenting the award, Newby said Gersh is “one of the world’s premier academic cardiologists and thought leaders. He has deftly combined important clinical research, superior teaching skill and selfless volunteer service in a career uniquely spanning the entire discipline devoted to improving cardiac care.”

Research by Gersh showed for the first time that coronary bypass surgery provides benefits in the elderly equal to those in younger patients, and he gathered critical data on long-term survival of patients having surgery for heart defects, Newby said. Earlier studies by Gersh helped clarify risks and benefits of coronary artery bypass surgery and balloon angioplasty, she noted.

“In the time-honored Herrick tradition, Dr. Gersh has profoundly influenced cardiology,” Dr. Newby said. Gersh joined Mayo medical school in 1979. He chaired the associations’ Council on Clinical Cardiology in 1996-1998.

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